1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semi-automatic method of replacing a device within a load control system, such that the new replacement device can operate in the same manner as the device that was replaced. Particularly, the invention relates to a method of configuring replacement ballasts in a lighting control system, and the method requires limited user input.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical prior art load control system is operable to control the amount of power delivered to one or more electrical loads, such as lighting loads or motor loads, from an alternating-current (AC) power source. A lighting control system generally comprises a plurality of control devices coupled to a communication link to allow for communication between the control devices. The control devices of a lighting control system include lighting control devices (e.g., electronic dimming ballasts for control of fluorescent lamps and/or dimmer circuits for control of other lighting loads) operable to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting loads (and thus, the intensity of the lighting loads) in response to digital messages received via the communication link. In addition, the control devices of a lighting control system often include one or more input devices, such as keypads or sensor devices, that transmit messages via the communication link in order to control the loads coupled to the lighting control devices.
Lighting control systems for fluorescent lamps typically comprise a controller that communicates with a plurality of electronic dimming ballasts via a digital communication link. The controller may communicate with the ballasts using, for example, the industry-standard Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) communication protocol. The DALI protocol allows each ballast in the lighting control system to be assigned a unique digital address, such as a short address, and as a result, each ballast can control a fluorescent lamp in response to commands transmitted via the communication link. The commands may be transmitted by wall-mounted keypads coupled to the communication link, or by handheld devices, such as infrared (IR) remote controls or personal digital assistants (PDA). The commands transmitted by handheld devices are received by an IR receiving sensor that is coupled to the communication link and is operable to send appropriate commands to the controlled ballasts. In addition to IR receiving sensors, the lighting control system may also include daylight sensors or occupancy sensors. The daylight and occupancy sensors are operable to be coupled to the communication link and to monitor the condition (e.g., the ambient light level or motion from an occupant, respectively) of a space and send appropriate commands to the controlled ballasts in response to the sensed conditions in the space.
When the lighting control system is initially installed, each ballast must be configured appropriately. A ballast may be initially configured with specific operational configurations such as a group configuration. For example, a ballast may be configured to be included in a particular group with other ballasts that are responsive to commands received from a particular IR receiver such that the group of ballasts may be controlled together in response to an IR command. Typically, a unique group identifier, such as a group address, is associated with each particular group, and this group identifier forms part of the group configuration of each ballast. Thus, every ballast that belongs to a particular group is responsive to any commands that include the unique group identifier or group address that corresponds to the group. The ballast may also be configured to be included in, for example, a group of ballasts that are responsive to commands received from a particular daylight sensor, or a group of ballasts that are responsive to a particular occupancy sensor. Again, all ballasts within a particular group are operable to be controlled together, and a single ballast may belong to multiple groups and as a result, is responsive to multiple commands that include different group identifiers. In addition, the ballast may be further configured with certain individual operational configurations, such as minimum and maximum light intensity, preset light intensities, and other parameters.
In order to maintain these configurations, the controller of the lighting control system is operable to store and update these configurations as needed. In addition, the controller may also be operable to store information regarding the particular area within a building that a ballast is installed (such as a floor number, room, quadrant, etc.). Typically, this information is stored by the controller during the initial setup and installation of the lighting control system.
It may be desirable to replace an existing ballast with a new ballast. The configurations that were associated with the replaced (existing) ballast must be reassigned to the new replacement ballast such that the new ballast will operate in the same fashion as the replaced ballast had operated. For example, if the replaced ballast had been configured to operate as a member of a group of ballasts that are responsive to an occupancy sensor, then the new ballast, once installed in the same location as the replaced ballast, must also be configured to operate in the same ballast group responsive to the occupancy sensor (in the same manner as the replaced ballast).
Some prior art lighting control systems require a user to completely re-program all or portions of the lighting control system in order to configure the new replacement ballast to operate in the same fashion as the replaced ballast. This method can be very time-consuming for a user. Another prior art method of reconfiguring a new replacement ballast comprises using a hand-held PDA to run a ballast replacement program in which the user enters a unique serial number of the replaced ballast and a unique serial number of the new replacement ballast. The PDA transmits these serial numbers to an IR receiver within the lighting control system. Once these serial numbers are received by the controller via the communication link, the controller updates the configurations accordingly such that the new ballast will operate in the same groups and with the same individual operating parameters as the replaced ballast. This method of reconfiguration is described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 7,391,297, issued Jun. 24, 2008, entitled HANDHELD PROGRAMMER FOR LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
This prior art method of reconfiguration can be tedious as the user must input the serial numbers of both the replaced and new ballasts. If many ballasts are replaced in the lighting control system, the prior art method becomes even more tedious as more serial numbers must be entered. In addition, some installers or users may fully install the new ballast before realizing that the serial number (typically printed on the product) is needed to facilitate the reconfiguration process. Thus, there exists a need for a method of semi-automatic ballast replacement and reconfiguration that does not require a user to completely re-program a new ballast and does not require a user to enter any serial numbers.